Questioning Biden's Inequality Narrative

Podcast - Bob Zadek Show

English - January 31, 2021 16:00 - 72.5 MB - ★★★★★ - 6 ratings
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Former Bain Capital partner and AEI adjunct follow Edward Conard takes on
the persistent myth of our time.

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The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class

By Conard, Edward

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Back in 2017, Former Bain Capital partner Ed Conard joined the show to tackle one of the most persistent myths of our time – that inequality is unilaterally a bad thing, which must be fixed through redistribution and other government intervention.

This myth is rearing its ugly head again with Biden’s tax-and-redistribute policies surging.

Last time he joined the show, Conard explained how so-called solutions to inequality typically harm the poor and particularly undermine the middle class, by slowing the growth they both depend on for rising standards of living.

Many cite Europe as an example of a more just and equal society without considering the toll that heavy redistribution has taken on their economy. Consider some inconvenient facts about inequality and innovation from Conard – now an American Enterprise Institute fellow – who notes how "shockingly little" Europe has contributed to global innovation of late:

Apple alone is worth more than the 30 largest companies in Germany.

America is producing five times as many billion-dollar startups.

U.S. productivity, as measured by GDP per hour worked, has grown 50 percent faster than Northern Europe’s since 2000, and three times faster than Southern Europe’s with demographics similar to America.

Perhaps the lazy European stereotype was correct all along. But who can blame them given the incentives they face?

Ed returned to the program this Sunday to discuss the innovation-dampening effects of "soak-the-rich" policies we can expect under Biden. Conard has authored a chapter of a new book, United States Income, Wealth, Consumption, and Inequality, in which he takes on the myth that most inequality is driven by cronyism – arguing instead that at least some inequality is a part of the overall package of American innovation.

Essential Liberty: Finding Freedom in a Post-COVID World

By Zadek, Bob

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Benjamin Franklin once said: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."Sign up for the weekly liberty digest for a chance to win a paperback copy of Bob’s latest book, Essential Liberty, and get a PDF of the first three chapters of Bob’s new book.